TE SubCom has announced that a contract is now in force for the company to construct the ICN2 submarine cable project for Interchange Limited, the Vanuatu-based consortium.

The new cable system will connect Port Villa and Luganville in Vanuatu to Honiara in the Soloman Islands. The 1,632km cable will deliver initial capacity of 200G access to numerous landing sites using SL14-A1 cables and Ciena Submarine Line Terminating equipment (SLTE).

"This submarine cable link is an important part of connectivity for this area of the world," said Sanjay Chowbey, president of TE SubCom. "We are pleased to work with Interchange Limited and apply our expertise and regional knowledge to this project."

The news follows the launch of the ICN1 cable that was completed in 2014. The cable was the first international subsea system linking Port Villa in Vanuatu to Suva in Fiji, directly interconnecting Southern Cross Cable between USA, Australia and New Zealand.

"Interchange Limited is committed to improved ICT infrastructure to communities we serve throughout the Melanesian region. The ICN2 cable project truly supports our mission," said Simon Fletcher, CEO of Interchange Limited. "ICN2 is the first CIF submarine cable to the Solomon Islands. With the planned future systems in the region, we feel confident they will be complementary and serve to build a redundant and reliable network. This should provide some confidence to regional investors and data centre partners."

With no clear date of when work is due to begin, all parties confirmed that they expect the system to be ready for service by Q4 of 2019.

"The increased activity of TE SubCom in Oceania with ICN2 and other projects combined with the increasing South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement (SPMMA) services is a testament to our continued focus and presence in the Oceania region," said Thomas Soerensen, managing director of Oceania at TE SubCom.